Did find out a few new things. Didn't realise that the "works" in the "salvation by works" that Luther talks about means the formal system of sacraments, not good works in the world.

Also thought the theory that monasteries are a useful safety valve in a religion was interesting. A problem for religions is that very pious people tend to form splinter groups with more extreme behaviour: if you've got monasteries you can shove them off to devote their life to God in peace, and they don't split off troublesome new sects instead.

Next course
Need to choose between Fundamentals of Music, Vikings, Wisdom of History or Art of Critical Decision Making.

Watching
Watched an appalling bad Anthony and Cleopatra on DVD. Apparently some kind of educational series, has a mixture of British and American actors w(including Walter Koenig and Nichelle Nichols), with Timothy Dalton as Anthony.

Dalton's performance might work on stage but looks ludicrously over-the-top on screen. Has a single wobbly set and synth-fanfares, an Octavian/Augustus with a terrible Eighties bubble-perm; combines the production values of BBC budget versions with the verse-speaking abilities of barely-trained Hollywood actors. Avoid this.

Museums
Popped into Apsley House: the Duke of Wellington museum, in his old house.

Costs £5 to £7 to get in, but there is quite a lot of good pillaged acquired artwork there: some excellent Breughels, couple of Rubens, the odd Reynolds and Velazquez, and an excellent Dissolute Household.

The ground floor has a load of posh crockery: elaborate dining sets given to the Iron Duke in gratitude. There are also some swords and a collection of golden Field Marshal's batons. Those can't be too rare though: apparently every private has one in his knapsack.

The stairway has a giant, nude, Canova statue of Napoleon with implausibly well-defined pecs. Napoleon rejected it, saying it was "too athletic". However I suspect he wanted a larger figleaf.

Also went next door to the Wellington Arch. You can go up to the top but the view's not amazing, blocked by larger buildings all around.

Worth a look sometime if you live in London. Not sure it's worth it for visitors as there's so much other stuff available for free.

Oh, and in the basement it does indeed have a pair of the Boots.

Politics
There seems to be an odd irony about the Fall of New Labour: that after doing so many things wrong, they're now being driven out on a wave of hatred for the things they've done right.

The target-driven culture in public services, the assault on civil liberties, are the things they should be punished for, but those are tolerated or even popular.

But the response to the economic crisis has been pretty shrewd: interesting that they confidently led the way with quantitative easing, with America and Japan following behind.

Similarly, with the Gurkhas had no right to settle at all until New Labour came along, and the current compromise isn't that unreasonable: total equality might just mean closing the whole thing down.

And closing down the daft MP's expenses system in favour of a flat rate seems more sensible than the bizarre current system: they're not overpaid by international standards, and from pure expediency they should be paid enough that they're not too easily bribable.

So, I think the lesson for their successors is clear: to stay popular, don't mess around doing some things right, just do everything wrong.

Web
Pics. Caves. Vintage cutaways (MeFi). Hamster's last day on Earth. Old Gotham.

Nifty Anaconda wave generator.

Star Trek Enterprise instruction manuals Failure Generator. Onion video: Trekkies Bash New Star Trek Film As 'Fun, Watchable'.

Articles. Austrian business cycle theory (MR). Young people drinking less.